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Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, has announced the appointment of Dr Muhammad Ali Pate as its new Chief Executive Officer effective August 3, 2023.
Pate was Minister of State for Health in Nigeria between 2011 and 2013.
According to Gavi, as health minister, Pate led a national campaign to "revive routine immunisation and primary health care, chaired a presidential taskforce to eradicate polio and introduced new vaccines into the country".
"It will be my privilege to lead Gavi and continue to support countries to scale up critical routine immunisation programmes, reach more zero-dose children, expand access to new vaccines, transform primary health care systems, and help fight outbreaks and future pandemics," said Pate in a press statement on Monday.
Dr Pate will replace Dr Seth Berkley who has led the alliance for the last 12 years.
Gavi undertook a year-long search for Berley's replacement led by its board chair, Professor Jose Manuel Barroso.
"Dr Pate stood out in a field of world-class candidates. With his knowledge and experience of both national immunization programming and international emergency response and global finance, I am confident that Gavi will continue to build on its vision and mission, as well as navigate the many challenges and opportunities we will face," said Barroso.
Profile
Dr Pate is a medical doctor trained in both internal medicine and infectious diseases. He has an MBA from Duke University in the United States.
The former Nigeran Health Minister also served as the Global Director for Health, Nutrition and Population of the World Bank and Director of the Global Financing Facility at the World Bank between 2019 and 2021.
He is currently the Julio Frenk Professor of Public Health Leadership at Harvard Chan School of Public Health.
Pate has served on several health-focused boards and expert panels in the public, private and non-profit sectors during his career.
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